Reverend wants to change our thinking about the saints

Wednesday

Dec 26, 2007 at 12:01 AMDec 26, 2007 at 12:25 AM

The saints are often depicted gazing down from their lofty perches in heaven, shiny halos intact. Their perfection and distance can be off-putting to the average spiritual seeker. But the Rev. James Martin, SJ, author of “My Life with the Saints” (Loyola Press, 2006), wants to change our thinking about these holy men and women.

Julie Fay

The saints are often depicted gazing down from their lofty perches in heaven, shiny halos intact. Their perfection and distance can be off-putting to the average spiritual seeker. But the Rev. James Martin, SJ, author of “My Life with the Saints” (Loyola Press, 2006), wants to change our thinking about these holy men and women.

“For too long, the saints were seen as folks whose lives were so far removed from us that we could never imagine being like them, or them being like us,” the Rev. Martin said. “It acts as an excuse. (We say), ‘The saints were perfect, so let’s leave the real hardcore religious tasks to them.’ But really, the saints were human like us and had to struggle like us. When you realize that, it’s encouraging.”

Humanizing the saints was the focus of a recent discussion with the Rev. Martin at St. Mary of the Nativity Parish in Scituate. A small group of hardy souls who braved the first major snowstorm of the season listened to the Jesuit priest’s thoughts on sainthood and how each of us is called to holiness.

According to the Rev. Martin, being a saint means just being yourself.

“We all manifest this individual type of holiness that fills up the community in ways other people can’t do,” he said. “So much in our culture tells us that if we were only someone else -- thinner, richer, more popular -- we would be happier. (But the) saints tell us that happiness is being who you are.”

He gave an example from Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The widely admired founder of the Missionaries of Charity frequently advised people against joining in her work among the poor and sick in India. Instead, she would encourage them to discover their own path to holiness, saying, “Find your own Calcutta.” The Rev. Martin said Mother Teresa’s words showed that each person’s contributions are valuable, no matter what their situation in life.

“I think the way God is calling parents to be holy is by parenting,” he said, and quipped, “Mother Teresa might be lousy at the work you’re doing.”

Learning that God wants us to bloom where we’re planted is liberating to most people, he said.

“(They’re) relieved because they realize they don’t have to become another person,” the Rev. Martin said. But they are challenged, as well. “Holiness as everybody’s call is a tall order,” he said.

For practical advice on how to become a saint, the Rev. Martin said resources are plentiful.

“The Christian would look at the gospels and the church, and the contemporary community for guidance,” he said.

He added a spiritual checklist for assessing progress.

“If you find yourself becoming more loving, more generous, more charitable, then you know you’re on the right path.”

The Rev. Martin, a self-described “New England Jesuit,” studied at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge and was ordained in 1999 at St. Ignatius of Loyola Church, on the campus of Boston College. According to the Rev. Martin, the Jesuit precept of “finding God in all things” helps him understand how people can discover God in their own lives.

“It’s made me more open to the idea that all parts of life are invitations to experience God,” he said.

When asked how the saints would feel about some of the challenges facing the church today, the Rev. Martin said that disagreements with the church abound in the lives of the saints. Some of those disagreements had dire consequences.

“St. Bernadette was kicked out of the rectory by the local priest. St. Ignatius was thrown in jail by the Inquisition. Mother Mary MacKillop was excommunicated,” he said.

But the saints persevered.

“They were always able to maintain hope through their faithfulness to God. People can be encouraged by that.”

Paul Murphy, a parishioner at St. Mary’s in Scituate, did find encouragement in the discussion.

“Individually, and possibly selfishly, we think that no one has the same problems or challenges as we do,” he said. “In fact, everyone has similar situations and we can get inspiration and even direction from the saints.”

One of the Rev. Martin’s hopes from his writing and discussion of the saints is that people will discover greater happiness as they become closer to God.